Frances the Firefly
An animated fire safety PIF from the 1990s. A book version of the PIF was published in 2004. It could be found here. Description: We see a book titled "Frances the Firefly." When the book opens, we see the insect kingdom. We zoom into the kingdom. All the creatures in the insect kingdom have a special gift from Mother Nature and the insects agreed long ago that they would work together and build a wonderful land where they could live happily. They decided that the ants built houses, the bees made honey and the spider spinned webs to decorate the land. We then see the fireflies which were given a special job to do. They would light up the sky with their tail torches so that everyone else will see what they were doing. We then see the titular character, who was very young and wasn't able to glow as bright as the older fireflies. She tried very hard by flapping her wings but she couldn't glow as bright. We zoom into the cresent moon outside the window. The other insects advised Francis that one day she will join the older fireflies but she was impatient. One evening, while Francis was sitting on a twig, she felt sorry for herself when the young and naughty Cocky Roach appeared and tapped her shoulder. Cocky knew why Frances was upset and thought that he would trick Frances into joining his naughty games. Cocky sits next to Frances and tells her to follow him and he'll show her how to light up the night. Frances couldn't resist Cocky's temptaions, so she follows Cocky to his hideout where he shows her his box of matches his mother left on the table saying that she could really burn brightly. Frances got nervous, having told many times how dangerous matches were but she was put under Cocky's spell and she wanted to be more like the older fireflies. She then lights it with Cocky's help, before Cocky retreats to another hiding place to watch his plan take shape. Delighted after finding her newfound torch, she flies to the sky holding the match, leaving a light in the air until the fire from the match burns her wings at the center of the insect forest and Frances drops it while falling to the ground. The match leaves flames burning a pile of twigs that the ants collected, before burning the good work that the insects done, including the ants' houses and honey factories The next morning when the fire was put out, the insects visit King Chrysalis, a butterfly at an emergency meeting. Frances, still in pain, starts feeling guilty and ashamed for herself and King Chrysalis tells her not to play with matches. He also asked the insects to rebuild to kingdom. Frances gets her own job to teach the younger insects her story and why they should never play with matches and helped to rebuild the kingdom with her friends. Cocky Roach gets banished from the insect kingdom and can be seen scuttling against litter bins while looking for food. The PIF ends with a beige screen and the red text: Remember Never play with matches! Variant: There was a 60 second remake released in the 2000s with some differences from the original long version. Among the differences included were: * Cocky Roach was more mischievous in the remake. Before Frances entered Cocky's hiding place, he said that he can give her a glowing light. In the original, he invited Frances to his hideout. Besides that, Cocky took the box of matches from the kitchen without his mother knowing whereas in the long version, the matches were left by his mother on the table. He taunted at Frances in the short version instead of saying how grown up Francis is with her torch in the long version. * The whole kingdom soon burned when Frances dropped the match. In the long version, the fire only burned the forest and work the insects done. Because of this, King Chrysalis was shocked because he and his people have to rebuild the entire kingdom. * Frances also realized her foolishness outside of feeling guilty and ashamed and Cocky never dared to show his face again possibly due to them destroying the entire kingdom. * The King only advised Frances to never play with matches instead of hoping Frances would realise how dangerous fire will be. * The text at the end of the PIF was in white over a black background in all caps. The Facebook address and logo for Fire Kills is also shown. Also, there is no exclamation mark in the sentence "Never play with matches!". Music/Sounds: In a transcript: Narrator: Frances the Firefly. (book opens) Narrator: In the kingdom of the insects, all creatures have a special gift from mother nature. Some have been given the gift of flight, some the gift of super strength, and others, the gift of beauty. So the insects, being a friendly and helpful bunch, agreed long ago, that they would all work together and build a wonderful land where they could all live happily. They decided that the ants would build the houses, the busy bees would make lots of honey, and the spiders would spin silky silvery webs to decorate the land and make it look beautiful. Now, the fireflies were given a very special job to do, as you know, the insects love the night time, but because it's very dark, they find it hard to see where they're going. So the fireflies, with their glowing tail torches, would act as tiny rays of sunlight and brighten the evening sky so everyone else would see what they were doing at the time of our story. Frances the firefly was only young and not yet able to make her tail glow brightly like the older fireflies. She would practice all the time flapping her wings and trying very, very, hard, but her tail only shone dimly, and this made her feel very sad, and all the other insects told Frances that one day she'd be able to join in with the grown-ups, but Frances didn't want to wait. (fade to black, then to Frances sitting) Narrator: One evening, Frances was sitting on a twig, feeling very sorry for herself when Cocky Roach appeared. Cocky was a very naughty young cockroach, always in trouble. He knew why Frances was upset and thought he would trick her into joining him in one of his rotten games. Cocky Roach: Come with me, Frances! Narrator: He said. Cocky Roach: I'll show you how to light up the night! Narrator: Frances couldn't resist. Cocky took Frances back to his hiding place and pulled back a leaf. There, to her surprise, was a box of matches. Cocky Roach: (laughing) My mommy left these on the table at home last week and still hasn't noticed they're missing! With these, you can really burn brightly! Narrator: Frances had been told how many times how dangerous matches could be, but Cocky had her under his spell. She wanted so much to be like the grown-up fireflies. She took a match from the box and with Cocky's help, lit it. (Frances lights the match and it glows from Cocky's hiding place) Narrator: The flame burned brightly and a flickering glow shone all around her. Delighted with her newly found torch, she took to the sky. Cocky Roach: Have fun, Frances, okay? Oh, how grown-up you look with your lovely torch. Narrator: Then Cocky ran to another hiding place where he could secretly watch his plan take shape. (Frances flies in the sky with the burning match) Narrator: Up and up Frances flew brighter and brighter. The match burned. Frances: Just wait when everyone sees what I can do! Narrator: She thought. But she didn't notice the flame burning larger and larger until, just as she was above the center of the insect forest, it burned her wings. (the match burns Frances's wings and she throws it to the ground) Narrator: The pain was so bad, that Frances instantly dropped the match from her grasp and it fell to the ground. It landed on a pile of twigs that the ants gathered, and of course, they started to burn. (The twigs burn) Narrator: It was only a matter of minutes before the whole forest was burning. All the good work that the insects had done was ruined. The houses were destroyed, the honey factory in cinders, and even worse, many insects were very badly burned. (Insects hold emergency meeting with King Chrysalis.) The next morning, when the fire had finally been put out, the insects held an emergency meeting. King Chrysalis, a very grand butterfly who ruled the insect kingdom, goes up to speak. Frances, her wings all black and burned, sat below, feeling very ashamed and still in a lot of pain. The king asked the insects to rebuild their land and make it beautiful again. It was decided that Frances had learned her lesson and that she should not be punished further, but she knew it would be a long time before she'd be able to fly again. King Chrysalis: I hope now... Narrator: King Chrysalis said to Frances. King Chrysalis: ...that you realize how dangerous fire can be. Narrator: Indeed, she did in time. Frances helped the rest of her friends to rebuild their kingdom. She was also given her own job to do. (Frances teaches the younger insects her story) Narrator: Every now and then, she would gather up all the younger insects and tell them her story. They would sit and listen to the tale and understand why they shouldn't play with matches. And as for Cocky Roach, he was sent away from the insect kingdom forever, and even today, can sometimes be found scuttling against the litter bins, looking for something to eat. (The PIF ends with the text, "Remember: Never play with matches." Narrator: Remember, never play with matches. Availability: Seen in YouTube videos. Scare Factor: None, but it rises to High when the fire burns the kingdom, then drops to minimal when the insects gather for an emergency meeting, as it reveals the fact that matches could destroy a large area or a home in a short amount of time, which can raise the scare factor. On the whole, though, the short is cute and charming, like most British children's programming of the 80s and 90s; besides which, there is no mention of anyone being killed, which can greatly lower the scare factor. Category:1990's PIFs Category:Fire Safety PIFs Category:PIFs Category:2000's PIFs Category:Fire Kills Category:Video PIFs Category:Animated PIFs Category:United Kingdom Category:Safety PIFs Category:False Sesame Street